Loader



J. N. FEES Aug. 12, 1947.

LOADER Filed Sept. 19, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVEA/'roe Jo/m/V. Fees Patented Aug. 12, 1947 LOADER John N. Fees, Spokane, Wash., assgnor to Henry a Brandt, Palouse, and L. 0. Ballard, Spokane,

Wash.

Application September 19, 1945, Serial No. 617,306

Claims. 1`

This invention relates to conveyors and more particularly to a conveyor by means of which grain, gravel, and other loose running material may be removed from a pile of such material and delivered into a truck or vother vehicle in which it is to be transported from one place to another.

Another object of the invention is to pro-vide a conveyor including a p'ort'alble frame or carriage 'adapted to be hitched back of a vehicle and the vehicle employed as means for backing the conveyor into -a pile of material which will then be gradually removed from the pile and delivered into the vehicle which will be in position to receive the material from a spout at the front end of the conveyor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a `conveyor so mounted upon a portable carriage that it extends forwardly at an upward incline with its front end portion projecting from the carriage in such an elevated position that it will overhang alvehicle and material may :dow from a spout at the front end of the conveyor into the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyor wherein a motor for driving the endless ca-rrer of the conveyor is mounted upon a carriage over which the conveyor is sup-ported, there being provided wheels for supporting the carriage, and one wheel being a castor having improved actuating means for shifting the rear portion of the carriage vertically, to permit shifting of thecarriage when so desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyor which is strong, easy to operate, and notrliable to get out of order.

rihe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved conveyor.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line '5i-3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line ei-'d of Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line '5-'5 of Figure 1.

This improved conveyor or loader has `a carriage i including side bars 2 across the front ends of which there is mounted a cross bar or aide 3 carrying wheels 4. The front end of the carriage also carries a tongue 5 which `projects forwardly therefrom and at its iront end is equipped with a clevis for connecting the tongue with a vehicle to be loaded. It will thus be seen that the carriage may `b'e drawn forwardly back of the vehicle from one place to another and when the loader is to be used it may be backed into a pile of grain or other loose running material, and the vehicle will be in position in front of the loader to receive material removed from the pile.

lA castor I supports. the rear portion of thev carriage and, has its shaft B extending vertically and rotatably mounted through a sleeve or bearing 9 carried by a cross bar Ill. The cross bar extends transversely of the carriage and its ends are slidably received in open inner sides of channel beams Il extending vertically between the side bars 2 of the carriage and side portions of the carriage. Plates I2 and I3 mounted in the beams Il limit vertical movement of the cross bar in the beams. A shaft I4 is rotatably mounted across the carriage in bearings I5 and carries arms I6 which project forwardly from the shaft and pass through slots II formed vertically through the cross bar Il). At one end of the shaft is a lever I8, and when this lever is swung forwardly the carriage will be shifted upwardly to raise the carriage until the cross bar I0 engages the plate I3 instead of the plate I2. The loader may then tbe freely drawn forwardly back of a vehicle or backed to a position in operative relation to a pile of material to be loaded into the vehicle. The tongue may then -be released from the vehicle and a number of vehicles successively moved into position in front of the loader for loading of the vehicles.

Over the carriage is a conveyor frame I9 having upper and lower side bars 2D and 2| held in spaced relation to each other by bars 22. A pan Y 23 is carried by the upper side bars 20 and through this pan extends the upper flights of upper conveyor chains 24 which carry cross blades V25, The lower rear end of the conveyor frame is anchored to the rear end of the carriage by `blocks 26 and Yfrom this end of the frame project `arms 2l with which a shaft 28 is rotatably connected. This shaft carries sprocket wheels 29 about which .the chains 24 are trained and upper vport-ions of the chains are trained about sprocket wheels -30 carried by a shaft 3| which extends transversely through a hood 32 which is slidably engaged with the side bars of the inclined conveyor frame and has its ends rotatably mounted in [bearings 33. The bearings extend longitudinally of the conveyor frame at opposite sides thereof and carry 'threaded rods or bolts 34 which slidably pass through blocks 35 and carry nuts 355 by means of which 'the bearings may .be-shifted longitudinally of the conveyor frame .and the Vchains tightened. The hood is open at its rear end and tapers towards this end and forms a spout through which the grain or other material will be discharged into the vehicle over which the conveyor frame projects. Props 31 are provided to support the conveyor frame in the inclined position and the beams l I aid in supporting the conveyor frame.

In order to drive the conveyor mechanism there has been provided a motor 38 which is mounted upon the carriage adjacent the front end thereof and Carries a pulley 39 about which are trained belts 4D which extend upwardly from the motor and have their upper portions trained about a large pulley 4l carried by a shaft 42 which is rotatably mounted transversely of the conveyor frame and at its other end carried a sprocket wheel 43. A sprocket chain 44 is trained about this sprocket wheel and extends towards the rear end of the conveyor frame from its rear portion trained about a large sprocket wheel 45 carried by shaft 3l. As the shaft 3i turns the chains 24 will be moved longitudinally of the conveyor frame and as the blades 25 move through the shoe 46 projecting forwardly from the `front end of the conveyor frame a portion of the pile of grain into which the shoe is embedded will be taken up by the blades or plates and carried towards the upper front end of the pan 23 from which it is dumped into the hood or spout 32 and then discharged therefrom into a vehicle over which the hood is disposed. The shoe has side extensions forming troughs 4l! in which operates screws 48 which are right and left hand screws and move grain in the pile inwardly towards the shoe so that an ample supply of grain will be provided for engagement by the blades 25. If so desired an attendant may shovel grain from the pile into the troughs l and the shoe and when it is necessary to do so the loader will be thrust rearwardly into the pile of grain. The lever i8 extends upwardly at one side of the conveyor frame and to its upper end is secured a clevis 49 carried by a cable 50 which is wound about a drum 5i secured upon a shaft 52. This shaft extends transversely of the conveyor frame and is rotatably mounted through bearings 53 and adjacent the drum carried a ratchet wheel 54 engaged by a latch 55 so that when the handwheel 55 is turned to rotate the shaft and wind the cable upon the drum the cable will be held wound upon the drum and the lever i8 held in a position to which it has been pulled forwardly and the carriage held in a raised position with the shoe i5 and the troughs 3 01T of the ground. The loader may then be shifted rearwardly into a pile of material or drawn along the ground behind a truck or other vehicle. When the point at `which the loader is to be used is reached the latch 55 will be grasped and drawn upwardly to a position in which the ratchet 54 will be released and the cable may unwind from the drum and allow the carriage to settle to a lowered position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A loader comprising a carriage, a conveyor frame over said carriage extending forwardly from the rear end of the carriage at an upward incline with its forward portion projecting from the carriage in position to overlie a vehicle to be loaded, said conveyor frame having upper and lower side bars and a pan mounted between the upper side bars, a shoe mounted across the lower rear end of the conveyor frame and projecting rearwardly therefrom, said shoe having end portions projecting from opposite sides of the con'-y veyor frame and forming troughs, a hood at the upper end of said conveyor frame shiftable longitudinally thereof to adjusted positions and constituting a discharge spout, shafts extending transversely of said conveyor frame, one shaft being rotatably mounted across the lower end of the conveyor frame and the other shaft being rotatably mounted through said hood, sprocket wheels carried by said shafts, chains extending longitudinally in the conveyor frame and trained about the sprocket wheels with their upper flights passing through said pan, blades mounted transversely across said chains, the lower shaft having end portions extending longitudinally in said troughs and carrying screw propellers, a drive shaft rotatably mounted transversely through said conveyor frame, means for transmitting rotary motion from the drive shaft to the upper shaft, a pulley carried by the drive shaft, a motor on said carriage, and a pulley wheel carried by said motor, a belt trained about said pulley wheels for transmitting rotary movement to the drive shaft.

2. A loader comprising a carriage, a conveyor mounted over said carriage and extending at an upward incline towards its front end with its forward portion projecting from the carriage in an elevated position, channel beams extending vertically between side portions of the conveyor and the carriage with their open sides disposed inwardly, front wheels for said carriage, a cross beam extending transversely of said carriage with its ends engaged in the channel beams for vertical sliding movement, a vertical bearing carried by the cross beam, a castor having an upstanding stem rotatably engaged through said bearing, the cross beam being formed near its ends with vertical slots, a shaft rotatably mounted across said carriage, arms extending from said shaft and engaged through the slots of said cross beam, a lever carried by Said shaft and projecting upwardly therefrom, a shaft rotatably carried by said conveyor, a drum upon the second shaft, a cable wound about said drum and connected with the upper end of said lever, a hand wheel for turning the second shaft and winding the cable thereon to actuate the lever and turn the rst shaft to swing the arms downwardly and shift the carriage and the channel beams upwardly along ends of the Cross beam, a ratchet wheel at a side of said drum, and a latch carried by the conveyor and engaging the ratchet wheel to releasably hold the drum and the second shaft against retrograde rotation after winding the cable upon the drum.

3. A loader comprising a carriage, a conveyor frame over said carriage extending forwardly from the rear end thereof at an upward incline with its forward portion projecting from the carriage in an elevated position, a hood at the front end of said frame constituting a discharge spout, a shaft rotatably mounted through said hood transversely thereof, a shaft rotatably mounted across the rear end of said frame, sprocket wheels carried by the shaft, an endless conveyor extending longitudinally in said conveyor frame and including chains trained about the sprocket wheels and cross blades Carried by said chains, a shoe carried by the rear end of said conveyor frame and projecting rearwardly under the rear shaft and the rear end of the endless conveyor, said shoe having portions projecting from opposite sides of the conveyor frame and constituting troughs, .and the lower shaft having end portions extending longitudinally in said troughs and car- 5 rying screw conveyors for moving material towards the shoe.

4. A loader comprising a carriage, a conveyor frame over said carriage extending forwardly from the rear end thereof at an upward incline, a, hood at the front end of said conveyor frame constituting a discharge spout, a shaft rotatably mounted across the rear end of said frame, a shaft rotatably mounted through said hood transversely thereof, sprocket Wheels carried by the shafts, a pan extending longitudinally in the conveyor frame, an endless conveyor extending longitudinally in the conveyor frame and having chains trained about the sprocket Wheels and cross blades carried by its chains, the upper flight of the endless conveyor moving upwardly along the Way when the conveyor is in motion, said hood being shiftable longitudinally of the conveyor frame so set positions for tightening the chains, and means for rotating one shaft to impart motion to the endless conveyor.

5. A loader comprising a carriage, a conveyor frame over said carriage extending forwardly from the rear end thereof at an upward incline, a hood at the front end of said conveyor frame constituting a discharge spout, a shaft rotatably mounted across the rear end of said frame, a shaft rotatably mounted through said hood transversely thereof, sprocket Wheels carried by the shafts, a pan extending longitudinally in the conveyor frame, an endless conveyor extending longitudinally in the conveyor frame and having chains trained about the sprocket wheels and cross blades carried by its chains, the upper flight of the endless conveyor moving upwardly along the way when the conveyor is in motion, said hood being shiftable longitudinally of the conveyor frame so set positions for tightening the chains, a drive shaft extending transversely through said conveyor frame and rotatably mounted, a pulley carried by the drive shaft, a motor on said carriage provided with a pulley, a belt trained about the pulleys for transmitting rotary movement from the motor to the 4drive shaft, sprockets carried by the drive shaft and the shaft carried by the hood, and. a sprocket chain trained about the last mentioned sprocket wheels for transmitting rotary movement from the 4drive shaft to the shaft carried by the hood.

JOHN N. FEES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 606,165 Gregory June 21, 1898 1,836,003 Barber Dec. l5, 1931 2,364,282 Fees Dec. 5, 1944 

